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I travel and program computers

Odds and ends after digital nomading for two weeks

I’ve heard German every day I’ve been in Barcelona. Last week when I was in Vienna, German came in very handy too! 😉

Vienna is a beautiful city and I understand why it wins so many “best city in the world to live in” contests. I had a good time visiting there but I was ready to move on after a week. Maybe all the Viennese people who like nightlife move to Berlin?

In Barcelona I’ve gotten a lot of mileage out of speaking about 10 words of Spanish. People are really nice to me here when I try Spanish before we switch to English.

Coming to Barcelona for only one week was a mistake. I was on a plane last weekend and I’ll be on a plane this coming weekend. That’s not a nice lifestyle when you’re working 40 hours/week. From now on I’m spending a minimum of two or three weeks anywhere I go, maybe longer.

I love the neighborhood I’m staying in in Barcelona, Poblenou. I’d love to come back to Barcelona, rent a place in Poblenou, and make a life here. Time enough for that later though, for now I want to see Asia!

Living in Berlin I forgot how much I like to walk down to the shore. I’ve gone on a stroll along the water every day here.

Having control over my time during the day is a huge blessing. I can take a four-hour lunch break and walk around the city during the warm, sunny part of the day without bothering any of my coworkers. One of the worst things about a NYC/Berlin winter is leaving work when the sun is already down every day, and basically never getting to be outside in the sun. That seems like a distant memory now.

I’m a very social person and have always preferred traveling with a friend to traveling alone. Staying in an Airbnb was a calculated move to get enough sleep and be able to get work done, but I really miss the aspect of hostels where you meet other travelers and have someone to have a beer with at the end of the day. In Bali I’m working in a coworking space so hopefully I’ll meet some people there to be social with.

I know you’ve read this 100 times elsewhere, but it is *tremendously* liberating to get rid of all your stuff and live out of one backpack. I’ve only been doing this for two weeks and I’m already laughing at myself for how much stuff I brought. I seriously brought eight shirts, and four pairs of pants with me, wtf? I read a blog post by a guy who got all of his stuff down into one *carry-on* bag. That is seriously hardcore. Not sure if I’ll ever get quite that far, maybe if you only visit parts of the world that have hot weather all day and night. In Barcelona you need a jacket at night.

I’m concerned that I could go overboard with this lifestyle and suddenly realize I haven’t built up a life and social circle anywhere, just floating around the world like a dilettante, sampling various cultures but never diving in deep to any one in particular. Wherever I go, I want to do what I did in Berlin: make friends with local people, live in the whole city, not just the expat parts of it, learn some of the language and culture. But you can’t do that in six weeks, which is how long I’ll be in Bali.

I couldn’t have done this without so much help from so many people. My friends and family have been universally supportive of me and done me lots of favors lately. Thanks everyone! You helped one guy achieve his dream!